A celebration of life party held by mourners at a Minnesota senior living apartment complex turned tragic after a shooting broke out soon after the gathering, killing two individuals and injuring three others.
It was the second night of violence directed towards mourners in St. Paul.
A large group of people attended the memorial service inside the community room and then filed into the parking lot.
On Saturday, February 25, about 5:15 p.m., police were called to the Frogtown area in St. Paul, Minnesota, regarding reports of a shooting in the parking lot.
Responding officers discovered that five people had been shot. Many casualties were driven to the hospital in private automobiles, while others were taken by ambulance. According to accounts, two people were dead, one man was seriously injured, one woman was injured but not seriously, and another was in stable condition.
First responders pronounced one of the victims dead at the site, while the other died while being treated at United Hospital.
The incident occurred in the Kings Crossing.Episcopal Housing parking lot. The subsidized apartment complex provides low-income housing for seniors over the age of 62.
Police have not revealed the reason for the shooting, but investigators believe it was a targeted attack. No arrests have been made.
The Quad Area Chamber of Commerce named one of the deceased victims as Larry Jiles Jr., who managed a cafe In Centerville. He was known as “chef hot hands.”
One of the residents, Joan Chillers, 79, claimed the facility is generally quiet and secure. On her way to the grocery store, Chillers noticed a few people arguing at the party, and when she returned an hour later, there were cops present.
This was St. Paul’s second shooting incident in two days. On Friday, February 24, three youths were injured in a drive-by shooting while attending a funeral reception for another teenager who was stabbed to death at a school earlier this month.
Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota delivered a statement condemning the city’s gun violence. He declared that he was determined to decrease violence by tackling gang activity.
The shooting on Saturday was the city’s fifth homicide since the beginning of the year.